Liquid dispenser

ABSTRACT

A water purifier or other liquid dispenser may sense a height of the inlet of a container accurately through an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver that are disposed at different positions of a water discharge module moving vertically. Additionally, in the water purifier, the water discharge module may discharge purified water at a point spaced a certain distance apart from the inlet of the container, based on infrared sensing, thereby preventing the inlet of the container from contacting the lower surface of the water discharge module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application Serial No.17/569,961, filed on Jan. 6, 2022, which claims priority to KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2021-0002348, filed on Jan. 8, 2021, whoseentire disclosures are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Disclosed herein is liquid dispenser, such as a water purifier, thatsenses a height of the inlet of a container and discharges filtered rawwater to the container

2. Background

Water purifiers are devices that purify water with a filter. A waterpurifier can be an independent device or a device disposed on the frontsurface of a fridge. The water purifier discharges filtered raw water,i.e., purified water, to a container placed below a water dischargemodule. In this case, due to a difference between a height of the bottomsurface of the container and a height of the water discharge module, thepurified water can splash from the container, causing inconvenience to auser.

To prevent this from happening, water purifiers having a water dischargemodule capable of moving vertically have been developed. In a waterpurifier of the related art, a water discharge module moves to a pointnear the rim of a container, and at the point, a water discharge nozzleinstalled in the water discharge module discharges the purified water.

To implement the operation of the water purifier of the related art, itis important to measure a height of the rim of a container accurately.In relation to this, various technologies for measuring a height of therim of a container have been suggested. According to one related art, acontact sensor (i.e., a bumper or a switch) is disposed on the lowersurface of a water discharge module, and as the contact sensor contactsthe rim of a container, a height of the rim of the container ismeasured. However, according to this related art, proper hygiene cannotbe ensured.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of the water purifier according to a secondrelated art. FIG. 1 is excerpted from FIGS. 4 and 5 in a second relatedart (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0109259), and the referencenumerals in FIG. 1 are given only to the components in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 1 , the water purifier according to the second relatedart includes a dispenser 12 with an outlet 121, a narrow-beam ultrasonicsensor 17 that transmits and receives a Time of Flight (ToF) signal tomeasure the height of the container 1, and a wide-beam sensor 18. Thatis, an optic ultrasonic sensor 17 includes a transmitter 171 and areceiver 172 on a printer circuit board 173, and ultrasonic wavesreceived from the transmitter 171 is reflected by the container 1 and isreceived by the receiver 172, and based on intensity of the receivedultrasonic waves, a height of a container is measured. However, when ToFsignals such as ultrasonic signals and the like are used, a height ofthe rim of a container having a thin rim cannot be measured accurately.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a liquid dispenserthat measures a height of the inlet of a container accurately anddischarges purified water into the container. Another aspect of thepresent disclosure is to provide a liquid dispenser that measures aheight of the inlet of a container without causing hygiene problems. Yetanother aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a liquiddispenser that measures a height of the inlet of a container accuratelyeven if the rim of the inlet of the container is narrow.

Aspects according to the present disclosure are not limited to the aboveones, and other aspects and advantages that are not mentioned above canbe clearly understood from the following description and can be moreclearly understood from the embodiments set forth herein.

In a liquid dispenser of one embodiment, an infrared transmitter and aninfrared receiver are disposed at different positions of a waterdischarge module moving vertically, thereby sensing a height of theinlet of a container accurately.

In the liquid dispenser of one embodiment, the water discharge moduledischarges purified water at a point spaced a certain distance apartfrom the inlet of a container, based on infrared sensing, to prevent theinlet of the container from contacting the lower surface of the waterdischarge module.

A liquid dispenser in one embodiment may include a main body, a liquiddischarge module including a nozzle to discharge a liquid to acontainer, the liquid discharge module being configured to move thenozzle vertically at a front of the main body, a connecting wallconnected to the liquid discharge module and configured to movevertically along with the liquid discharge module, a first infraredtransmitter configured to transmit first infrared rays, and an infraredreceiver configured to receive the first infrared rays. Here, the firstinfrared transmitter is provided at a one of a lower surface of theliquid discharge module or a first end of the connecting wall, and theinfrared receiver provided at another one of the lower surface of theliquid discharge module or the first end of the connecting wall.

Specific effects are described along with the above-described effects inthe section of Detailed Description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view for describing a related art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a liquid dispenser in oneembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a liquid dispenser in which aposition of a water discharge nozzle changes, in one embodiment;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are views for describing a liquid dispenser’s operation ofdischarging purified water in one embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a view showing a relationship between time, and receiptintensity of infrared rays, in one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereafter, liquid dispensers in several embodiments are described. FIG.2 is a perspective view showing a liquid dispenser, such as a waterpurifier, 1 in one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2 , the water purifier1 in one embodiment may include a main body 10 and a water dischargemodule (or liquid discharge module) 20.

The main body 10 is a main component of the water purifier 1 thatproduces purified water, hot water and cool water by filtering rawwater. The main body 10 may include a main body case that forms theexterior of the water purifier 1, and various types of components thatfilter raw water. The main body case may have a space therein, andvarious types of components that filter raw water are installed in theinner space.

The main body case may be formed in a way that a plurality of covers100, 102, 104, 106, 108 are coupled. Specifically, the main body casemay include a front cover 100, a rear cover 102, a base cover 104, a topcover 106 and a pair of side covers 108. The covers 100, 102, 104, 106,108 constituting the main body case may form the exteriors of the frontsurface, the rear surface, the bottom surface, the upper surface andboth the lateral surfaces of the main body 10.

The covers 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 constituting the main body case maybe coupled to one another using a coupling member or a couplingstructure. Specifically, the front cover 100 and the rear cover 102 maybe spaced from each other in a front-rear direction. The pair of sidecovers 108 may respectively connect to the front cover 100 and the rearcover 102. The top cover 106 may be coupled to the upper ends of thefront cover 100, the rear cover 102, and the pair of side covers 108.The base cover 104 may be coupled to the lower ends of the front cover100, the rear cover 102, and the pair of side covers 108. The base cover104 may be a cover that is mounted onto a floor surface on which thewater purifier 1 is disposed.

The front cover 100 and the rear cover 102 may be formed in a way thatthe front cover 100 and the rear cover 102 are bent at a predeterminedcurvature, and the pair of side covers 108 may be formed into a flatplate. The base cover 104 and the top cover 106 may have a front end anda rear end that are rounded, to correspond to the front cover 100 andthe rear cover 102.

A flat surface part (or flat surface) 1002 may be formed in the centralwall of the front cover 100 in an up-down direction. The flat surfacepart 1002 may be a dent wall of the front cover 100 that convexlyprotrudes forward. The flat surface part 1002 may serve as a centerpoint at a time of the rotation of the water discharge module 20described hereunder. A container such as a cup and the like forcollecting water may be disposed in front of the front cover 100. Thecontainer may be placed more reliably with the formed flat surface part1002.

The water purifier 1 may further include a tray 30 onto which thecontainer is mounted. The tray 30 may connect to the base cover 104 andprotrude forward. Together with the base cover 104, the tray 30 may formthe lower surface of the water purifier 1. The tray 30 may be disposedperpendicularly below a water discharge nozzle 240 described hereunder.The tray 30 may be formed as a structure for storing water that fallsdown without being accommodated in the container.

The water discharge module 20 may be coupled to and protrude from oneside of the main body 10. Specifically, the water discharge module 20may be disposed to protrude forward from the front cover 100 and the topcover 106. The water discharge module 20 may be coupled to andcommunicate with the main body 10. At least a wall of the waterdischarge module 20 may move vertically, and discharge purified water,hot water and cool water to the container.

The water discharge module 20 may include a water discharge module caseforming the exterior of the water discharge module 20. The waterdischarge module case may include a water discharge top cover 230, awater discharge lifting cover 200, 210 and a water discharge side cover220.

The water discharge side cover 220 may be a cover that is mounted ontothe main body 10. The water discharge side cover 220 may be disposed ina way that the front cover 100 is divided into an upper wall and a lowerwall. Accordingly, the front cover 100 may be divided into a lower frontcover coupled to the base cover 104, and an upper front cover coupled tothe top cover 106.

The water discharge lifting cover 200, 210 may be disposed to protrudefrom the front cover 100 forward. The water discharge lifting cover 200,210 may be disposed to convexly protrude from the water discharge sidecover 220 outward.

The water discharge top cover 230 may extend from the top cover 106 andbe disposed to cover the upper end of the water discharge lifting cover200, 210. An input part (or button) 40 for allowing a user to input aninstruction for a predetermined operation may be disposed on the waterdischarge top cover 230. The input part 40 may be implemented as avariety of forms such as a button-type input part, a touch-type inputpart and the like.

The water discharge module 20 may include a water discharge nozzle (ornozzle) 240 that discharges a liquid such as purified water, cool waterand hot water. The water discharge nozzle 240 may be installed in a waythat the water discharge nozzle 240 is exposed to the lower surface ofthe water discharge module 20. The tray 30 may be disposed below thewater discharge nozzle 240 perpendicularly.

A water discharge pipe (not illustrated) connected to the waterdischarge nozzle 240 may be disposed inside the water discharge module20. The water discharge pipe may extend to the inside of the waterdischarge module 20, in the main body 10, and be coupled to the waterdischarge nozzle 240. In one embodiment, the water discharge module 20may move such that a position of the water discharge nozzle 240 changes.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a water purifier 1 in which aposition of a water discharge nozzle 20 changes, in one embodiment.Referring to FIG. 3 , the water discharge module 20 may move vertically.That is, the water discharge module 20 may move up and down.

The vertical movement of the water discharge module 20 is described asfollows. The water discharge lifting cover 200, 220 includes a firstlifting cover 200 and a second lifting cover 210. The first liftingcover 200 may be fixed to the water discharge side cover 220. That is,the first lifting cover 200 does not move vertically. The waterdischarge top cover 230 may be coupled to the upper end of the firstlifting cover 200. The second lifting cover 210 may be disposed insidethe lifting cover 200 and move vertically along the first lifting cover200. The water discharge nozzle 240 may be disposed on the lower surfaceof the second lifting cover 210 and move vertically along with thesecond lifting cover 210.

Additionally, the water discharge module 20 may lift automatically, andthe automatic lift of the water discharge module 20 may be performed bya controller (not illustrated) disposed in the main body 10. Thecontroller may be a processor-based device, and for example, may be amicrocomputer (micom). Herein, the processor may include one or more ofa central processing unit (CPU), an application processor, or acommunication processor.

The controller (not illustrated) may control a compressor, a coolingfan, various types of valves, a sensor, an induction heating assemblyand the like that are installed inside the main body 10, in particular,the lifting movement of the water discharge module 20. The controller(not illustrated) receives information on receipt intensity of infraredrays from an infrared receiver 330 described hereunder, and based on theinformation, controls the water discharge module 20′s lifting movement,and the water discharge nozzle 240′s operation of discharging water.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the water purifier 1 includes a firstinfrared transmitter 310, a second infrared transmitter 320, and aninfrared receiver 330. The first infrared transmitter 310, the secondinfrared transmitter 320, and the infrared receiver 330 are componentsfor detecting a height of the inlet (i.e., the rim) of a container.

The first infrared transmitter 310 may be disposed at a connectingportion (or connecting wall) 340, and transmit first infrared rays.Specifically, the connecting portion 340 has a shape in which theconnecting portion extends in the height-wise direction of the waterdischarge module 20. The other end of the connecting portion 340 may beattached to the first later surface of the water discharge module 20that faces the front of the main body 10, and the first infraredtransmitter 310 may be disposed at one end of the connecting portion340. One end of the connecting portion 340 is an end on the oppositeside of the other end of the connecting portion 340, and spaced acertain distance part from the lower surface of the water dischargemodule 20. As the water discharge module 20 move vertically, theconnecting portion 340 attached to the first lateral surface of thewater discharge module 20 moves vertically. Accordingly, the firstinfrared transmitter 310 also moves vertically.

The first infrared transmitter 310 may be disposed obliquely withrespect to a bottom surface, at one end of the connecting portion 340.For example, the first infrared transmitter 310 may be disposedobliquely at angles from 5 degrees to 85 degrees. The first infraredtransmitter 310′s operation of transmitting first infrared rays may becontrolled by the controller.

The second infrared transmitter 320 may be disposed at the front of themain body 10, and transmit second infrared rays. In this case, thesecond infrared transmitter 320 may be disposed below the first infraredtransmitter 310. Specifically, the second infrared transmitter 320 maybe disposed at a point where the front of the main body 10 meets theupper surface of the tray 30. The second infrared transmitter 320 may bedisposed obliquely with respect to a bottom surface. For example, thesecond infrared transmitter 320 may be disposed obliquely at angles from5 degrees to 85 degrees. The second infrared transmitter 320′s operationof transmitting second infrared rays may be controlled by thecontroller.

The first infrared transmitter 310′s operation of transmitting firstinfrared rays and the second infrared transmitter 320′s operation oftransmitting second infrared rays are not performed at the same time.That is, when the first infrared transmitter 310 transmits firstinfrared rays, the second infrared transmitter 320 does not transmitsecond infrared rays, and when the second infrared transmitter 320transmits second infrared rays, the first infrared transmitter 310 doesnot transmit first infrared rays.

The infrared receiver 330 may be disposed on the lower end surface ofthe water discharge module 20, and receive first infrared rays andsecond infrared rays. In this case, since the first infrared transmitter310 and the second infrared transmitter 320 do not operate at the sametime, as described above, the infrared receiver 330 receives any one ofthe first infrared ray and the second infrared ray, at a certain timepoint.

Specifically, the infrared receiver 330 may be disposed on the lowersurface of the water discharge module 20, which is farthest from thefront of the main body 10. Thus, a range of the receipt of infrared raysmay increase. When the water discharge module 20 moves vertically, theinfrared receiver 330 also moves vertically.

The infrared receiver 330 may be disposed obliquely with respect to abottom surface, on the lower surface of the water discharge module 20.For example, the infrared receiver 330 may be disposed at anglescorresponding to those of the first infrared transmitter 310 and thesecond infrared transmitter 320 while being disposed obliquely at anglesfrom 5 degrees to 85 degrees. The infrared receiver 330 transmitsinformation on receipt intensity of the received infrared rays to thecontroller, and the transmitted information may be used for the waterdischarge module 20′s vertical movement and the water discharge nozzle240′s operation of discharging water.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show that the first infrared transmitter 310 is disposedat one end of the connecting portion 340 while the infrared receiver 330is disposed on the lower end surface of the water discharge module 20.However, this configuration is provided only as an example. The infraredreceiver 330 may be disposed at one end of the connecting portion 340while the first infrared transmitter 310 may be disposed on the lowerend surface of the water discharge module 20. However, to improvereceipt performance, the infrared receiver 330, for example, is disposedon the lower end surface of the water discharge module 20, which is notaffected by external disturbances such as the sunlight and the like.

Hereafter, the water purifier 1′s operation of discharging purifiedwater is described further with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 . Asillustrated in FIG. 2 , the water discharge module 20 is placed at adefault point, and a container (400; see FIGS. 4 to 6 ) is not placed onthe upper surface of the tray 30. Then under the control of thecontroller, the second infrared transmitter 320 transmits secondinfrared rays, and the infrared receiver 330 receives the secondinfrared rays. In this case, the first infrared transmitter 310 does nottransmit first infrared rays, and the infrared receiver 330 transmitsreceipt intensity of the second infrared rays to the controller in realtime. Since the container 400 is not placed on the upper surface of thetray 30, the second infrared rays have maximum receipt intensity.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in a state in which the second infraredtransmitter 320 transmits second infrared rays, the container 400 isplaced on the upper surface of the tray 30. Accordingly, the secondinfrared rays pass through the container 400 and are received by theinfrared receiver 330. In this case, receipt intensity of the secondinfrared rays decreases unlike the receipt intensity in the state inwhich the container 400 is not placed.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a relationship between time, and receiptintensity of infrared rays. Referring to FIG. 7 , when the container 400is not placed on the upper surface of the tray 30, infrared rays havemaximum receipt intensity. When the container 400 is placed on the uppersurface of the tray 30, receipt intensity of infrared rays isattenuated, regardless of the sort of the container 400.

In one embodiment, the controller compares receipt intensity of secondinfrared rays with threshold receipt intensity, to ascertain whether acontainer 400 is placed on the upper surface of the tray 30. Thethreshold receipt intensity may be receipt intensity that is less thanmaximum receipt intensity of second infrared rays by a predeterminedpercent. For example, the threshold receipt intensity may be a valuethat is 95 % of the maximum receipt intensity of second infrared rays.Referring to FIG. 7 , the second infrared rays may be received by theinfrared receiver 330 at intensity less than the threshold receiptintensity in all of the glass, the PET bottle, and the paper cup.

When ascertaining that the container 400 is placed on the upper surfaceof the tray 30, as a result of the comparison of the receipt intensityof second infrared rays and the threshold receipt intensity, thecontroller controls the water discharge module 20 such that the waterdischarge module 20 starts to move downward, and the first infraredtransmitter 310 transmits first infrared rays, and the infrared receiver330 receives the first infrared rays. In this case, the second infraredtransmitter 320 does not transmit second infrared rays, and the infraredreceiver 330 transmits receipt intensity of the first infrared rays tothe controller in real time.

In one embodiment, the controller may control the downward movement ofthe water discharge module 20, based on the receipt intensity of thefirst infrared rays received from the infrared receiver 330. That is,when the receipt intensity of the first infrared rays is the thresholdreceipt intensity or greater, the controller allows the water dischargemodule 20 to keep moving downward, and at a first time point when thereceipt intensity of the first infrared rays is less than the thresholdreceipt intensity, the controller may stop the water discharge module 20from moving downward. The threshold receipt intensity is describedabove.

Specifically, when the water discharge module 20 starts to move, thefirst infrared rays do not pass through the container 400, and havemaximum receipt intensity that is greater than the threshold receiptintensity. Accordingly, the water discharge module 20 continues to movedownward, as illustrated in FIG. 5 .

Then, as a result of the downward movement of the water discharge module20, the first time point at which the receipt intensity of the firstinfrared rays is less than the threshold receipt intensity comes. Thatis, at the first time point, the first infrared rays pass through thecontainer 400, and are received by the infrared receiver 330.Accordingly, the controller stops the downward movement of the waterdischarge module 20, as illustrated in FIG. 6 .

In this case, the lower surface of the water discharge module 20 thatstops moving is spaced upward from a height of the inlet of thecontainer 400 by a first distance. That is, the height of the inlet ofthe container 400 corresponds to a value at which the first distance isdeducted from a height of the lower surface of the water dischargemodule 20. Additionally, the lower surface of the water discharge module20 does not contact the inlet of the container 400. Thus, hygieneproblems can be solved.

When the movement of the water discharge module 20 stops, the controllercontrols the water discharge nozzle 240 such that the water dischargenozzle 240 discharges purified water. As a result, a distance betweenthe water discharge nozzle 240 and the bottom surface of the container400 decreases, and the purified water discharged does not splash outwardfrom the container 400.

In one embodiment, the controller may determine a speed of the downwardmovement of the water discharge module 20, based on receipt intensity ofsecond infrared rays. Specifically, when the receipt intensity of secondinfrared rays is attenuated greatly in a paper cup and the like, aninfrared sensing degree of the infrared receiver 330 is high, and theinfrared receiver 330 receives first infrared rays effectively. However,when the receipt intensity of second infrared rays is attenuatedslightly in a glass and the like, an infrared sensing degree of theinfrared receiver 330 is low, and the infrared receiver 330 cannotreceive first infrared rays effectively. Accordingly, the controller maydetermine a speed of the downward movement of the water discharge module20, based on the receipt intensity of second infrared rays.

In one example, when receipt intensity of second infrared rays in thestate in which the container 400 is placed is less than receiptintensity of second infrared rays in the state in which the container400 is not placed by the threshold receipt intensity or greater, thecontroller may control the water discharge module 20 such that the waterdischarge module 20 moves at slow speed (first speed). Further, whenreceipt intensity of second infrared rays in the state in which thecontainer 400 is placed is greater than receipt intensity of secondinfrared rays in the state in which the container 400 is not placed bythe threshold receipt intensity or greater, the controller may controlthe water discharge module 20 such that the water discharge module 20moves at normal speed (second speed).

In another example, the controller may control a speed of the downwardmovement of the water discharge module 20 such that the speed of thedownward movement is adversely proportional to the receipt intensity ofsecond infrared rays in the state in which the container 400 is placed.

In summary, in the water purifier 1 of one embodiment, the firstinfrared transmitter 310 and the infrared receiver 330 are disposed atdifferent positions of the water discharge module 20 that movesvertically, thereby measuring a height of the inlet of a container 400accurately. In particular, since the first infrared transmitter 310 andthe infrared receiver 330 move downward, a height of the inlet of acontainer 400 may be measured accurately, even if the rim of the inletof the container 400 is narrow. Additionally, the water purifier 1discharges purified water at a point spaced a certain distance apartfrom the inlet of a container 400, thereby preventing the purified waterfrom splashing outward from the container 400.

Further, in the water purifier 1 of one embodiment, since the waterdischarge module 20 discharges purified water at a point spaced acertain distance apart from the inlet of a container 400, based oninfrared sensing, the inlet of the container 400 does not contact thelower surface of the water discharge module. Thus, hygiene problems canbe solved.

One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a water purifier thatmeasures a height of the inlet of a container accurately and dischargespurified water into the container. Another aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a water purifier that measures a height of theinlet of a container without causing hygiene problems. Yet anotheraspect of the present disclosure is to provide a water purifier thatmeasures a height of the inlet of a container accurately even if the rimof the inlet of the container is narrow. Aspects according to thepresent disclosure are not limited to the above ones, and other aspectsand advantages that are not mentioned above can be clearly understoodfrom the following description and can be more clearly understood fromthe embodiments set forth herein.

In a water purifier of one embodiment, an infrared transmitter and aninfrared receiver are disposed at different positions of a waterdischarge module moving vertically, thereby sensing a height of theinlet of a container accurately. In the water purifier of oneembodiment, the water discharge module discharges purified water at apoint spaced a certain distance apart from the inlet of a container,based on infrared sensing, to prevent the inlet of the container fromcontacting the lower surface of the water discharge module.

A water purifier in one embodiment may include a main body included afilter for filtering raw water, a water discharge module configured todischarge the filtered raw water to a container while vertically movingat a front of the main body, a connecting wall connected to the waterdischarge module and configured to move vertically along with the waterdischarge module, a first infrared transmitter disposed at a first pointof the water purifier and configured to transmit first infrared rays,and an infrared receiver disposed at a second point of the waterpurifier and configured to receive the first infrared rays. Here, thefirst point of the water purifier is any one point of, a lower endsurface of the water discharge module or one end of the connecting wall,and the second point of the water purifier is the other point of, thelower end surface of the water discharge module or the one end of theconnecting wall. In this case, the other end of the connecting wall maybe attached to a first lateral surface of the water discharge module,which faces the front of the main body, and one end of the connectingwall may be spaced a certain distance apart from the lower surface ofthe water discharge module.

The water purifier may further include a controller configured toreceive receipt intensity of the first infrared rays from the infraredreceiver and to control a movement of the water discharge module basedon the receipt intensity of the first infrared rays. When the waterdischarge module moves downward, the infrared receiver may transmit thereceipt intensity of the first infrared rays to the controller in realtime, and the controller may stop a movement of the water dischargemodule at a first time point when the receipt intensity of the firstinfrared rays is less than predetermined threshold receipt intensity.

Additionally, a water discharge nozzle may be disposed on the lowersurface of the water discharge module, the controller may control thewater discharge nozzle to discharge the filtered raw water when thewater discharge module stops, and the lower surface of the waterdischarge module that stops moving may be spaced upward from a height ofthe inlet of the container by a first distance. The threshold receiptintensity may be less than maximum receipt intensity of the firstinfrared rays received by the infrared receiver by a predeterminedpercent.

The first infrared transmitter may be disposed at one end of theconnecting wall, and the infrared receiver may be disposed on the lowerend surface of the water discharge module. Additionally, the infraredreceiver may be disposed on the lower surface of the water dischargemodule, which is farthest from the front of the main body.

The water purifier may further include a second infrared transmitterdisposed at the front of the main body and configured to transmit secondinfrared rays, and the second infrared transmitter may be disposed belowthe first infrared transmitter, and the infrared receiver may receivethe second infrared rays. Additionally, the water purifier may furtherinclude a tray disposed at a lower side of the water discharge moduleand configured to move vertically, and the second infrared transmittermay be disposed at a point where the front of the main body meets anupper surface of the tray.

When the water discharge module is disposed at an initial default point,the second infrared transmitter may transmit the second infrared rays,and the infrared receiver may receive the second infrared rays. When thewater discharge module starts to move downward from the initial defaultpoint, the first infrared transmitter may transmit the first infraredrays, and the infrared receiver may receive the first infrared rays.

The controller may receive receipt intensity of the second infrared raysfrom the infrared receiver, and when the receipt intensity of the secondinfrared rays is less than predetermined threshold receipt intensity,the controller may control the water discharge module such that thewater discharge module moves downward. Further, the controller maydetermine a speed of the downward movement of the water dischargemodule, based on the receipt intensity of the second infrared rays.

According to the present disclosure, purified water is discharged at apoint spaced a certain distance apart from the inlet of a container,thereby preventing the purified water form splashing from the containeroutward. According to the present disclosure, the inlet of a containerdoes not contact the lower surface of a water discharge module, therebysolving hygiene problems.

The components and features and the like are described above withreference to the limited embodiments and accompanying drawings set forthherein for a better understanding of the subject matter in the presentdisclosure. However, the subject matter of the disclosure is not limitedto the embodiments set forth herein. Modifications and changes can bedrawn from the disclosure in various different ways by one havingordinary skill in the art. Therefore, it is to be understood that thetechnical spirit of the disclosure is not construed as being limited bythe embodiments herein and that equivalents and equivalent modificationsdrawn from the scope of the appended claims are included in the scope ofthe technical spirit of the disclosure.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers.In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third,etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “lower”, “upper” and the like, may beused herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of oneelement or feature to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated inthe figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “lower” relative to other elements or features would then be oriented“upper” relative to the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplaryterm “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used hereininterpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference tocross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the disclosure.As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result,for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure should not be construed aslimited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but areto include deviations in shapes that result, for example, frommanufacturing.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances ofsuch phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection withany embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid dispenser, comprising: a main body; aliquid discharge module including a nozzle to discharge a liquid to acontainer, the liquid discharge module being configured to move thenozzle vertically at a front of the main body; a connecting wallconnected to the liquid discharge module and configured to movevertically along with the liquid discharge module; a first infraredtransmitter configured to transmit first infrared rays and provided at aone of a lower surface of the liquid discharge module or a first end ofthe connecting wall; and a second infrared transmitter provided at thefront of the main body and configured to transmit second infrared rays,wherein a speed of a downward movement of the liquid discharge module isdetermined based on a receipt intensity of the second infrared rays. 2.The liquid dispenser of claim 1, further comprising: an infraredreceiver configured to receive the first infrared rays, wherein theinfrared receiver provided at another one of the lower surface of theliquid discharge module or the first end of the connecting wall.
 3. Theliquid dispenser of claim 2, wherein: the infrared receiver isconfigured to determine the receipt intensity of the first infrared raysat the infrared receiver, and the liquid water discharge module isconfigured to move the nozzle based on the receipt intensity of thefirst infrared rays.
 4. The liquid dispenser of claim 3, wherein: whenthe liquid discharge module moves the nozzle downward, the infraredreceiver determines the receipt intensity of the first infrared rays inreal time, and the liquid discharge module stops the downward movementof the nozzle at a first time when the receipt intensity of the firstinfrared rays is less than a predetermined threshold receipt intensity.5. The liquid dispenser of claim 4, wherein: the nozzle is positioned onthe lower surface of the liquid discharge module, the nozzle dischargesthe liquid after the liquid discharge module stops the downward movementof nozzle, and the lower surface of the liquid discharge module isspaced upward from a height of an inlet of the container by a firstdistance when the liquid discharge module stops the downward movement ofnozzle.
 6. The liquid dispenser of claim 4, wherein the thresholdreceipt intensity is a predetermined percentage of a maximum receiptintensity of the first infrared rays received by the infrared receiver.7. The liquid dispenser of claim 2, wherein the first infraredtransmitter is positioned at the first end of the connecting wall, andthe infrared receiver is positioned on the lower surface of the liquiddischarge module.
 8. The liquid dispenser of claim 7, wherein theinfrared receiver is provided on a region of the lower surface of theliquid discharge module that is farthest from the front of the main bodyin a horizontal direction.
 9. The liquid dispenser of claim 7, whereinthe second infrared transmitter is provided below the first infraredtransmitter, and the infrared receiver is configured to receive thesecond infrared rays from the second infrared transmitter.
 10. Theliquid dispenser of claim 9, further comprising: a tray configured tosupport the container and positioned below the liquid discharge module,wherein the second infrared transmitter is provided where the front ofthe main body meets an upper surface of the tray.
 11. The liquiddispenser of claim 9, wherein when the liquid discharge module positionsthe nozzle at an initial default point, the infrared receiver receivesthe second infrared rays, and when the liquid discharge module starts tomove the nozzle downward from the initial default point, the infraredreceiver receives the first infrared rays.
 12. The liquid dispenser ofclaim 11, wherein the infrared receiver determines the receipt intensityof the second infrared rays, and when the receipt intensity of thesecond infrared rays is less than a predetermined threshold receiptintensity, the liquid discharge module starts to move the nozzledownward.
 13. The liquid dispenser of claim 1, further comprising afilter provided in the main body and configured to filter water, whereinthe liquid discharged by the nozzle is the filtered water.
 14. Theliquid dispenser of claim 1, wherein the liquid discharge module furtherincludes a first cover that is coupled to the main body, and a secondcover that includes the nozzle and is slidably coupled to the firstcover to move vertically relative to the main body, and wherein theconnector wall is connected to the second cover of the liquid dischargemodule.